Asia Cup 2018: Probable India XI against Pakistan on September 23

Dubai, Sep 22: India and Pakistan will lock horns in the third match of Super Four stage in the ongoing Asia Cup 2018 on Sunday (September 23).

Like previous one, this match is also going to be high-octane encounter as the arch-rivals will collide with each other. It is known as the biggest rivalries on the field of cricket.

India had won the previous game by eight wickets when the two teams previously met each other earlier this week but the Men In Blue couldn't call themselves favourites as Men In Green must be eager to come back strongly.

India successfully defeated Bangladesh by eight wickets thanks to Ravindra Jadeja, who made an ODI comeback after a year and was awarded as the Man of the Match, while Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten 83. A third-wicket partnership of 64 between Sharma and MS Dhoni made the chase of 174 possible.

Pakistan, on the other hand, too bounced back after their loss against India. They had a thrilling encounter with Afghanistan but won the match with three balls to spare. Shoaib Malik was the Player of the Match as he scored a match-winning knock of 51*. Malik, who looked in good touch against India, must be hoping to continue the momentum. He is considered as the backbone of the batting lineup of Pakistan.

As two teams would be up against each other for the second time in four days, the stands are going to be swelled up with the supporters and millions of fans would be glued to their television screens.

Team India would, therefore, need not tinker too much with the squad and disturb the winning combination but the tough weather conditions in Dubai and the risk of players' injury might force team management to make some changes with the Playing XI. If there are no injury concerns then skipper Rohit Sharma might come up with the same side that faced Bangladesh.

Here is how Team India's probable XI might look like against Pakistan:

1. Rohit Sharma

The right-handed batsman led his team from the front in the game against Pakistan and Bangladesh and scored back-to-back half-centuries. Leading the side from the front, Rohit scored unbeaten 83* against Bangladesh and took his team home.

Against Pakistan, he scored a quickfire 52 before getting dismissed by Shadab Khan but he had done the damage with his whirlwind knock. Rohit, who is often hailed as one of the biggest strikers of the white ball, would look to continue the good performance against Pakistan and look to continue from where he left.

2. Shikhar Dhawan

After a forgettable England tour, Shikhar Dhawan announced his return to for with a composed century against minnows Hong Kong in their opening game of the Aisa Cup. Dhawan is looking in good form in the tournament as he has scored 46 and 40 against Pakistan and Bangladesh, respectively.

The left-handed batsman from Delhi has given India a positive start but has thrown his wicket away in the last two games. The team would once again hope for another fine start from the left-handed opener against Pakistan. The Delhi-cricketer has scored most runs (213) in the tournament.

3. Ambati Rayudu/Manish Pandey/KL Rahul

The right-handed batsman from Hyderabad has made most of the opportunity in the absence of skipper Virat Kohli. In his comeback match against Hong Kong, Rayudu slammed a fifty in the first and followed it up with an unbeaten 31 against Pakistan and 13 against Bangladesh.

Team management might give some match practice to KL Rahul or Manish Pandey and in that case, might rest Rayudu. Both Rahul and Pandey are eagerly waiting for an opportunity.

4. Dinesh Karthik

The Tamil Nadu cricketer couldn't do much against Hong Kong and certainly missed out on a certain half-century. In the match against Pakistan, Karthik scored unbeaten 31* and took India home.

He didn't get the opportunity to bat against Bangladesh as MS Dhoni was promoted at No. 4. He hasn't done anything wrong so far and therefore he'll make it to the squad against Pakistan.

5. MS Dhoni

The veteran wicket-keeper batsman failed with the bat in that game against Hong Kong as he was dismissed for a third ball duck.

Against Bangladesh Dhoni was promoted at to No. 4 and made most of it. The Ranchi dasher scored 33 before getting dismissed while finishing the match but by that time he had already spent some time into the middle.

Dhoni is having a good outing from behind the stumps as well.

The 37-year-old has taken five catches and effected a couple of stumpings in the tournament. Dhoni's presence in the side has ensured the team doesn't panic under the pressure situation. The veteran, in the absence of Kohli, could bat at No. 4 or 5 as per the team's requirements.

6. Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav has a knack of picking up crucial wickets and the Indian batsman attributes his golden touch to not bowling much in the nets.

Jadhav, who has made a comeback after recovering from a hamstring injury, made a compelling contribution of three wickets in the Asia Cup 2018 clash against Pakistan on Wednesday (September 19), picking up three wickets with his deceptive side-arm action.

In the absence of Hardik Pandya - the all-rounder, Kedar's role as a batsman would also be crucial for Team India. The right-handed-batsman would come in to bat at No. 6. His services with the ball weren't required against Bangladesh.

7. Ravindra Jadeja

The Saurashtra all-rounder made a comeback in the ODI set up after more than a year and it looked as if Jadeja was waiting for that opportunity. The left-arm spinner picked up a match-winning four-for and rattled Bangladesh's middle order.

The all-rounder, who came in as a replacement to Axar Patel, was awarded the man of the match for his bowling performance. Considering his batting exploits, lower down the order, Jadeja makes a perfect batsman at No. 7.

The southpaw has the ability to play big shots lower down the order and this makes him an ideal replacement to Hardik Pandya.

8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The UP pacer missed the Test series in England due to injury and was out of action for almost two months.

The speedster looked little rusty against Hong Kong but regained his prime against Pakistan and ended up winning the man of the match for his figure of 3/15 and against Bangladesh, he again picked up 3 and again got those early breakthroughs.

The right-arm pacer would be leading India's pace attack with the new ball. His experience and ability to bowl well in the death would be crucial to India's success in the tournament.

9. Yuzvendra Chahal

The wrist-spinner couldn't pick any wickets against Pakistan and Bangladesh and bowled economically well against Bangladesh. Chahal will be the second wrist-spinner for India and team would hope the Haryana bowler finds his grooves. Chahal and Kuldeep have been crucial to India's limited-overs exploits in the last one year.

10. Kuldeep Yadav

The chinaman was India's key bowler in the limited-overs' series against England and almost looked unplayable.

The Kanpur wrist-spinner will be crucial to India's success in the tournament as the wrist spinners are ruling the roost with the white ball these days. Kuldeep picked up two wickets against Pakistan and remained wicketless against Bangladesh for he was tad unlucky.

The wrist-spinner must be looking to get some wickets against Pakistan.

11. Jasprit Bumrah

The No.1 ranked bowler in the ODIs, Bumrah is proving why India are doing well in the powerplays. Bumrah started exceptionally well against Pakistan and Bangladesh as he put pressure on the opposition batsmen.

Bumrah is a dangerous limited-overs' bowler and team would be hoping he gets some early wickets as well in the upcoming matches.

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